We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what our lives will look like in a few weeks, a few months, and even a few years with the impending arrival of the littlest Petersik. And a big part of that process included wondering about how we’d keep up with this blog once there was a tiny (yet huuuuge) responsibility around here to be cared for and coddled. So we put our heads together and concocted a few new strategies for making time for everything: each other, our baby, this blog, and of course our main man Burger.
We’re still as dedicated as ever to keeping this home improvement adventure going since we’ve had the fortune of taking this hobby/passion of ours and turning into a full-time job for Sherry. And at the risk of not saying this before I forget: THANK YOU for encouraging, supporting and humoring us on a daily basis so that could happen (read how Sherry went from hobbyist to full time blogger here).
But with a newborn on the way, we’re not delusional. We know how much time and effort that will take. Caring for Baby P alone could be a full time job for Sherry so we knew that maintaining our two-post-a-day habit and coordinating weekly giveaways, all while taking on consistent DIY projects would be a stretch. So we came to a major decision (not without a ton of careful consideration and number crunching of course). The verdict? We’re charging forward with Young House Love full force- and in order to keep things going we’ll be bringing on a second full-time employee (to help with both baby and blog duties). Any guesses as to who it could be?
I know, some of you are probably crossing your fingers that it’s Burger – he is quite a hard worker…
But it’s actually… me! That’s right, once Baby P comes along I’ll be saying a sad goodbye to my time as an 8-to-6 advertising geek and hello to full time fatherhood & bloggerdom. And for that, I feel incredibly blessed. So again: THANK YOU. It’s not like I don’t already work about 20+ hours a week on top of my full time job when it comes to keeping this blog going, but with all the time that we’ll gain with me being at home during the day we’re certain that we can better juggle the blog, the baby, and the rest of our lives. In fact we have big plans for YHL when I come on full time, so stay tuned for even more action around here in the coming months…
And what does my new role as a full time father/blogger really mean? Of course the obvious: I’ll be around to tag team both the care for our beanette and the blog with Sherry, seven days a week. So we can nurture each of them as one big (hopefully very happy) family. But it also means that we’ve got another major room makeover on our to-do list. That’s right, Casa Petersik is getting a bona fide two-person home office!
For now, all of my night and weekend work on our blog has been done at the dining room table, while Sherry remains parked at her nook in the den. But if I’m going to be around all day, we know we’ll need a more permanent space so we can reclaim the dining table and keep the room-to-room shouting to a minimum. Plus there really is something to be said for a designated work space to help delineate work and play zones, which we know will be very important when it comes to maintaining that fragile and oh-so-important work/life balance.
So if you haven’t already figured it out by process of elimination, the new office will be taking over our current guest bedroom. And with the nursery having given our other guest bedroom the boot already, we have to keep this office 100% guest friendly as well (yup, that means it must sleep at least two people as it always has). But it also has to accommodate two working bloggers, their wee one, and their playful nine pound pooch. Not to mention store all sorts of paperwork without looking too corporate for our guests when they come to stay. Oh yes, we’ll be walking quite a delicate line in there (all while trying to squeeze every last ounce of function out of the tiny 10′ x 10.5′ space).
Oh and did we mention that we’d also like to see it multitask as a playroom of sorts for Baby P since she’ll obviously be hanging out in there as we do our blogging thang? We didn’t? Well add that to the list. So stay tuned for the play by play as we attempt to fully reconfigure this soon-to-be triple duty room into a space for work, play, and overnight guests. It’s sure to be a doozie, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
And we’d love to hear any tips that you guys have when it comes to designing a home office, working from home without losing your mind, or just generally creating a room that has two or three separate functions. Share and share alike.
Cat Alford says
WHOA! Awesome John. Many many congrats on this wonderful decision. You guys rock and you’re going to be the best parents and bloggers out there!
Sandra says
That’s really exciting news! Quite happy for your family!
If it’s not too personal of a question, how are you guys planning to handle health care? I’ve found that to be the biggest hurdle of self-employment.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sandra,
We’ve already signed up for freelancer’s insurance (a small family plan for J, me and the bean) that will kick in after her birth (we’re covered by John’s office until then). I’ve actually had it before (back when I was a freelance copywriter and John and I weren’t yet married so I couldn’t be covered by his company) and of course it’s an expense every month, but it’s also usually a monthly expense in the corporate world, it just comes out of your paycheck before you get it. We’ve definitely had to get used to a lot of we’re-a-small-business changes over the course of evolving this blog (like hiring an accountant, filing quarterly taxes, and even paying a pretty penny to host our site to keep it from crashing every day) so we’re thinking that we’re pretty well versed at taking on extra responsibilities to keep this whole thing going. It’s so worth it to us in the end!
xo,
s
Melissa says
Aah! So exciting. :) Looking forward to seeing the new office!
Jennifer says
How absolutely wonderful that you both will be home with the baby!! My best advice for not going crazy at home is to make sure you still go out somewhere! – the park, mall, to dinner, church, high school ballgames, anywhere! Don’t lose touch with friends and make sure to have adult conversations at least once a week.
Debbie says
Hey what about something along the lines of a murphy bed that can be put away when you don’t have guests? You’ll have plenty of floor space for the little one and when a guest comes you can just pull the bed down :)? By the way a BIG HUGE congrats!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Debbie,
We’ve already tackled the sleeping situation. Stay tuned to see what we figured out…
xo,
s
Cindy says
Congratulations on the exciting and scary decision. For some time now, I’ve been mulling over how to turn our small seldom-used guest room into a craft room with a place for people to sleep, so I am really interested in watching your process. (I’ve been considering doing Ana’s murphy bed plan from Knock-Off Wood.)
Good luck and God speed. ;)
Jamie says
Good for you! I hope you guys don’t get sick of each other…
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jamie,
John and I actually worked together when we met in NYC, so our life was a little something like this: go to work together, go to lunch together, go back to work together, leave work together, have dinner together, hang out til midnight or one, repeat. So we’re pretty confident that we love being around each other enough not to go crazy. Although of course we plan to have some separate time and to get out of the house (both together and individually) to keep ourselves sane!
xo,
s
Amy C. says
Fantastic news! Can’t wait to see the new office renos :)
Andrea P says
Congrats John!
What a wonderful arrangement for you & your soon to be expanding family! So glad you can do what you love! :)
Andie says
Wow, that is so awesome! What a lucky little girl to have both her parents around! I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re going to do with that room.
Nicole B. says
Congrats!!!!!!! How very exciting!
Emily says
WOW!! Congratulations you guys, this is awesome, awesome news!
Ann says
Yah! I am so relieved you aren’t giving up the blog, I could understand if you did, but you’d be missed very much. Love the pix of Burger behind the laptop. Too funny!
Jennifer says
Congratulations!! I can imagine neither of you ever thought your little website would turn into a full time venture for both of you, but what a huge blessing to be able to be home with the little beannette! I cannot wait to see what you do with the guest room since our modest 3 bedroom house will eventually have our guest room converted to the same office/guest/playroom combination. Thanks for keeping all of us in the loop with all of your house (and life!) updates :)
Yvonne says
wow congrats on the move! are you guys worried about not having a steady income coming in each week?
I think this decision is great..having both parents being there for the new baby =)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Yvonne,
We’re nothing if not extremely financially cautious (sometimes to a fault) so of course we crunched numbers for months and thoroughly thought through any number of situations before making this huge decision. Having a good amount of money saved up as a “backup” was helpful, just so that if things somehow change with the way our blog is growing we still have 12 months of income squirreled away to cushion us. It definitely wasn’t a decision that we made lightly, but it really does feel momentous to be saying it out loud after tons of consideration!
xo,
s
Jessica says
Congrats on your decision – I think you will really enjoy staying at home, John! Well worth it :)
Rosa says
Congratulations! Well deserved new gig. This will be a very rewarding experience for the both of you.
Cheryl says
This is awesome. So happy to hear that you two came to this decision for you four! Though my husband and I were not able to both stay-home, we were able to coordinate our schedules so that one of us was always home when the kids came home from school and since we were both college teachers, we always had our office desks in main family areas. A crazy multi-tasking challenge but it worked.
And I was able to stay home with all three kids until they were school-age.
I will chime in later with more with specific ideas. For now, my one early morning suggestion is: to wait and see what life is like after your babe arrives. Let your experience guide you. Not unlike the question of whether to go out and buy new stuff for a new house before you move in or not. Let the place, your new life as a family, soak into your bones and you’ll end up making more practical decisions, soul-satisfying ones too.
YoungHouseLove says
Great advice Cheryl! Thanks so much!
xo,
s
Tammi says
WOW! That’s awesome news! Good luck with everything! I can’t wait to see what new plans y’all have. :)
Rachel @ The Avid Appetite says
Wow, you two are living my dream right now! Congrats!
Anna says
Huge congrats to you! How exciting =) I can’t wait to see the guest room makeover.
East End says
Just wow!
Nicole says
I’m so happy for you guys! I’ll admit when I first started reading the post, before I got to the point where you said you’d be keeping up with the blog, my heart went down to my feet because I didn’t know what I’d do without my daily dose of YHL! It’s everyone’s dream to be able to do what you LOVE, and do it with the people you love, and best of all, do it from home! Congrats again!
Corien Oranje says
Congratulations! That is a big decision! Great choice! So glad you are taking this chance. I became a fulltime author when my triplets (and their older brother) finally went to Kindergarten, and I am SO happy I chose not to be a teacher but to do what I had wanted to do all my life. The kids bump into my room whenever they want, I can help them doing their homework, pick them up from school AND write.
City Chic - Jamie says
oh wow! congrats, this is so exciting! I can’t wait to see what you do with the office/guestroom as I need to move my office into our guestroom when we have a baby! All the best!
Adriene S. says
Wow! As I was reading this, I began to brace myself because I seriously thought you guys were gonna call it quits! I’m so happy for you guys and can’t wait to see your plans for the office/guest room. Baby P is very lucky to have both parents at her beck and call! A big congrats!
Katy says
So excited for you both! Amazing that you get to turn your passion into a full time job for you both. Best of luck with the new baby and the new job!
MaryB in Richmond says
Holy CROW!!! You crazy kids! (And I mean “crazy” in a good way.)
How exciting!!! You guys totally rock … as I’ve probably mentioned before.
YAY!
xoxox
Liz @ Bon Temps Beignet says
Oh Thank God! I thought you were gonna say y’all were cutting back to just a few posts per week. So excited for you 2.. I mean 3… well 4, can’t forget the Burger.
Nikki Scully says
Fantastic!! I can’t wait to see what you two have up your sleeve. I’m confident that you can handle whatever comes your way. Yipee!!
beabee says
I am really, really happy for you! What an amazing blessing to be able to spend time with your baby and each other and work for yourself and all that jazz! I’ve said it before, but I you two always strike me as so professional and prepared. I’m sure you can make it work.
nue says
Cannot wait to see your magic for the office/guest/play space! Congratulations and thanks for sharing your news.
erin says
I am beyond jealous of your decision to quit the ad world!
I’m a copywriter/creative director and I think about taking that leap every day. It’s all about quality of life, right? If ya’ll ever need a third blogger, let me know. I’m right down the road.
Candy from Candied Fabrics says
Wow! What a leap, but I know y’all can do it! Believe it or not, about a month ago I was wondering what you would do when the baby comes…I know I have a hard time balancing all that I do and my kids are 8 & 12 (soon to be 9 & 13 — eek!). Adding hubby to the mix full time is gonna be awesome, you both get to be fully involved in BOTH your babies! :-)
I’ll bet this was a scary decision, but wow! the benefits are huge! Woot! Congrats!
ChaChi says
I’m so happy! I love how you always trick me into thinking you’re shutting down just to tell me you are getting bigger and better. Baby P and Burger are very lucky! And so are both of you for being so brave and talented!
Kristin says
Congratulations! What an exciting next step :)
Keren says
A big congrats to both of you for your new work/life situation!! I’m eager to read up on how you guys make your home work and baby/kid proof at the same time!! Wondering how you will handle the wee one around all the beautiful decor you have…
Lori Bourne says
Congratulations! This is a great decision, and I can speak from experience because my husband and I work from home, together, on our online business.
We also homeschool, which means our entire family is together all day, every day. And truthfully, we love it! We sure do work hard to get along, and give each other space. One of our secrets is having an office (and our own desks).
Hope everything goes well with the arrival of your little one!
TG says
First, congrats to you both for the big decision.
I don’t know if this can work or not, but the basement you redid a while ago, can that easily store over flow of not often used paperwork?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey TG,
Yup, we actually plan to use the basement to store a lot of overflow everything (from children’s toys and other displaced items to not-always-needed files and office equipment).
xo,
s
Nicole says
Congrats! What a fortunate girl to be able to have both her parents at home and experience all of her “firsts”!
Thrilled to hear that the blog will keep going strong!
Amy Kelly says
How exciting!!! Congratulations on the switch to full time father/blogger, John. What a blessing it will be for Baby P to have her mother and father around all day, everyday!
I look forward to seeing how you tackle turning a modest size room into a multifunctional space. I’m sure it’s going to be all sorts of inspirational for us folks who have limited space.
Ashley @ The Design Thief says
Congratulations, Petersiks! What a blessing to be able to be home together, with the baby and work on your blog! I can’t wait to see the new changes and the new room!
Best of luck :)
Cassie says
I’m so excited for you both! This is going to be such a great thing for your family, relationship, and business! The two of you are such an inspiration. Good luck with your upcoming major life changes!
Laura @ youngDCliving says
Wow! Congratulations. I really didn’t see that coming. I thought you might be hiring a part-time blog/baby-sitter or something, haha.
Does John plan on going back to a similar type job in the future or is this a permanent fix? And this is probably WAY too personal, but does this involve a major pay cut?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Laura,
Yup, at least for now we’re saying that this added employee thing is for keeps. Who knows where we’ll both be in five years (maybe we’ll both have full time office jobs in advertising again) but it makes the most sense for us to follow our passion and see this thing through. Of course this decision means that we’re giving up the income that John was making when he worked in the ad world, but we’re happy that the blog has been earning us enough money to comfortably live as a family without that extra income from John’s day job. We’re nothing if not extremely financially cautious (sometimes to a fault)- so we crunched numbers for months and thought through any number of situations before making the leap. Having a good amount of money saved up as a “backup” was helpful, just so that if things somehow change with the way our blog is growing we still have 12 months of income squirreled away to cushion us. It definitely wasn’t a decision that we made lightly, but it really does feel momentous to be saying it out loud after tons of consideration!
xo,
s
brenda says
everybody wins…..
Stasia says
WOW that is so exciting for you and your family! Good luck!!!
Jessica @ How Sweet says
Great choice! ;)
Jennifer says
Ooh! That’s awesome!! I’m so glad you didn’t say you were quitting the blog… I was worried!
Thank you for sharing your life with us and for realizing what an amazing opportunity you have and having the guts to go for it!!!!
Yay!!
Carol N. says
I am so happy for your two, Congrats! Being able to be home with baby P. will be a huge reward in itself and she will be so blessed to have both of her parents with her. And Burger should love the attention too!
Rebekah says
Good luck you guys! That is awesome that you both will be able to work from home with a newborn around!